And You Slept Through It
by galestrikes
Summary: Coming across her sworn enemy in a field of tulips wasn't exactly on Lightning's agenda for the day. Neither was she planning to come to terms with her thoughts and feelings about said enemy while he took a nap.


_Is he asleep?_

The woman blinked her pale blue eyes, her mouth opening to say something, but soon closed. Who would she be speaking to? Perhaps she meant to call out to him, commence another battle, or just demand why he was even here, in this lonely field. She thought she was the only one who knew of this field, a few steps away from the crumbling palace she roamed in, lithe and frail flowers blooming in this time-deprived wasteland. Lightning would come through this field when she could find a moment to herself, often stopping to gaze at the flowers and letting light-hearted memories invade her mind.

However, she didn't expect to have company today.

She took gentle steps towards his sleeping form, his chest rising and falling slowly - so unusual from his harsh and slightly winded breathing during battles - and paused, his sleeping form becoming more and more visible to her. Tilting her head a bit, a blush crept up onto her pale cheeks.

Caius Ballad.

The man who had sworn to end her. To put a stop to her act of chivalry. The man who seemed to take up a bit more of her thoughts each passing day. The man with the very noticeable jawline and fierce, dark eyes, lightly tanned skin contrasting with her own light skin, his voice smooth and taunting unlike her own firm and rigid voice. The man who was very much like her, yet completely different; a stranger yet a familiar presence. It was unnerving how alike they actually turned out to be, even through this endless amount of fighting and hatred towards one another. However, it did not mean they should be closer than enemies, actually, if anything, they should be more distant from each other, and Lighting knew this. She reminded herself of this fact constantly, but with their battles and need to get close to each other to land blows on one another it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her emotions and wants to herself.

The warrior set her gunblade down on the pale grass next to her, her armor making few sounds as she lowered herself onto the grass to sit next to her sleeping enemy. Letting a sigh escape her lips, her expression softened into one of contentment at this situation. Thoughts of touches or looks of affection hadn't crossed her mind before, but lately, Lightning found them invading her mind more often than other practical thoughts. Hugging, hand-holding, pecks of affection–

Once again, her eyes were brought to the man who lay next to her.

Burying her face in her gloved hands, her strawberry locks tangling into her fingers, the woman groaned softly. This was _ridiculous_. How could she, Lightning Farron, have a crush? And on her enemy, no less. Her sworn enemy, the one she had to put an end to, this crazed time-obsessed enemy whose only motivation for his actions were a little girl. Though, this wasn't very different for _her_ own actions; Serah was the reason she started fighting in the first place.

Peeking out from between her fingers, she saw that Caius had shifted slightly to lay on his side, his light violet hair flowing into the crevice of his neck and over his closed eyes. Lightning had the urge to brush those strands from his face, yet refrained, afraid of what the possible outcome could be— just a single touch could confirm her feelings. And the last thing she needed was to be fighting someone she most likely bore affections toward.

Instead, she brought her knees to her chest, the leg armor squeaking and grinding against her chest plate as her oceanic blue eyes spotted a patch of yellow tulips near her foot. Plucking a particularly small one from the bunch, she admired the bright yet comforting color of the petals, twirling it with her gloved fingers. Letting a small laugh escape her lips, the warrior set the small flower next to Caius' sleeping form, taking a slight liking to how the bright yellow contradicted with his dark hues of violet and black.

Perhaps, she thought, this endless series of battles could come to an end, if they willed it.

But for now, Lightning was content with the sway of the tulips around her and the gentle rising and falling of her enemy's chest as he slept.

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